**Building a Narrow Breaststroke Kick**

Swimmers like to do big, wide breaststroke kicks because they FEEL powerful.  Getting swimmers to understand and FEEL that a smaller, narrower kick is more productive can be difficult.  This week, Glenn takes us through a teaching progression that builds awareness for how the legs affect your speed in breaststroke.

**Monday**

**Building a Narrow Breaststroke Kick: PDF Fins Alternating Kick – Annotated**

Start the learning process with fins (we use FINIS PDFins), alternating dolphin kick and breaststroke kick.  The dolphin kick promotes a narrower breaststroke kick.

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/2584-pdf-fins-dolphin-kick-annotated>

0482 good breakout line

0522 good feet draw into the first stroke

0544 hands forward before kick

0726 shoulder hip to knee line

0743 shoulder hip to knee line

0906 slight hip draw

1114 as the hips are drawn the knees buckle

1330 Think long

2376 forward not down

2578 as far forward as possible prior to kick

2975 think along

**Tuesday**

**Building a Narrow Breaststroke Kick: PDF Fins Breaststroke Kick – Annotated**

Continue the learning process by eliminating the dolphin kicks.  Focus on minimizing the resistance created when setting up the kick.

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/2588-pdf-fins-breaststroke-kick-annotated>

0372 same as first exercise

0538 same set up

0569 only draw for breaststroke kick

0561 shoulder hip to knee line

0738 shoulder hip to knee line

0941 extended prior to kick

1336 shoulder hip to knee line compared to 0569 (120° - 125°) at point of kick

2003 137°

2727 135°

3815 not just thinking of the shoulder hip to knee angle but also the shoulder to knee width

5097 important to get the blades outside of the water flow

5478 we have to remember to think in 360°

5867 and sometimes we go too far and make things too narrow

**Wednesday**

**Building a Narrow Breaststroke Kick: Dolphin Breaststroke**

The fins come off, but the focus is the same:  Minimize the hip/thigh angle as you set up the kick, and keep the width of the kick narrow.

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/2591-dolphin-breaststroke>

0706 eventually we want the thought process of the knee draw to also come into consideration on the underwater pull

0885 126°

1203 132°

2651 underwater kick looks a little better

3381 141° maybe too shallow

4628 the kick used in the underwater pull is typically bigger than the normal kick

5304 while the kick can be this narrow the emphasis must shift towards the front end if so

**Thursday**

**Building a Narrow Breaststroke Kick: Breaststroke – Annotated.**

The final step in the progressing is whole-stroke breaststroke, focusing intently on the hip/thigh angle as well as the width of the kick.

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/2593-breaststroke-annotated>

0864 129°

1043 138°

2740 trying to find that sweet spot

3001 back to the line

3238 back to the line and focus on distance per cycle for young athletes

4015 Watch the hips

4238 the first kick is too small

4435 the second looks much better

4626 heels at shoulder width and looking for when the feet get perpendicular to the wall

5826 heels to the highest point

5836 feet perpendicular to the side walls

The question is can we skip that last little bit of the draw

**Friday**

**Felipe Lima:  Breaststroke – Hips**

We love how Felipe maintains a wide hip/thigh angle as he sets up the kick – and then minimizes the width of his kick.

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/2618-breaststroke-hips>

0437 the pitch of the feet

0614 drawing the hips

0655 heels are a bit wider as Felipe has wider shoulders

0676 feet perpendicular to the walls

0899 extended prior to feet engaging

1725 knees about shoulder width

1745 feet slightly outside the body line

2110 Watch the thighs stop moving and the heels recover

2590 I stop moving heels recover

**Saturday**

**Building a Narrow Breaststroke Kick: Flutter Breast Board Kick**

Oh no!  Glenn shows how and why breaststrokers should spend more time flutter kicking to improve their breaststroke kick.

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/2594-flutter-breaststroke-board-kick>

Just play the video and talk about the dynamics between the up-and-down movement and muscle memory

**Sunday**

**Roque Santos:  Breaststroke Kick**

Olympian Roque Santos shares his focus point for keeping the breaststroke kick narrow and hidden.

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/489-breaststroke-kick>

0866 137°

1192 draw two lines approximately shoulder width

1313 show how the recovery is inside the shoulders

1357 show the feet are outside the lines

2374 very typical for young swimmers

2647 not finishing the kick and the arms have started

3931 closing the feet as best as physically possible

4338 narrow finish clapping the feet together

10829 associate the wrong feeling

11893 feet outside the body

12354 feet outside the body

15093 Watch the slow continuous movement forward

22338 incorrect

22965 correct


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Dec. 23, 2024 - Building a Narrow Breaststroke Kick